While some early adapters may not need convincing to join the cryptocurrency craze, others are left wondering, what exactly is it good for? I can’t put it in my bank, I can’t use it at (most) stores, what can I do with cryptocurrencies? Before we get into the ins and outs of cryptocurrency and how it can be used, first let’s look at some of the similarities and differences between fiat and cryptocurrency.
Continue reading… “Fiat vs Cryptocurrency: Pros and Cons”
Prediction is a tricky business.
It’s so easy to be wrong and so hard to be right.
But that’s exactly what we’ll do here. Since we’re rapidly approaching the ten year anniversary of Bitcoin’s whitepaper publication, I’ll attempt to project out twenty years to see the evolution of Bitcoin, blockchain, alternative cryptocurrencies and decentralization.
This is the type of article that will look unbelievably foolish or incredibly brilliant when I’m old and gray.
I don’t care. I’m going for it anyway.
Continue reading… “What will Bitcoin look like in twenty years?”
“Open Finance “ — open-source financial services infrastructure built on public blockchains — may be the next major digitization narrative after Fintech. Driven by the transformation of analog liquidity (deposits in a bank account) to digital liquidity (tokens in digital wallets), the playing field can be leveled for offering financial services. As a result, new profit motives are introduced encouraging innovations not previously feasible.
Technology disrupting finance is a narrative that’s existed for a long time. The dream has always been for tech to digitize financial services, increase competition/access, reduce concentration risks, and improve customer experience. Many sales-pitches have tried to achieve this: from FinTechs, TechFins, API / Open Banking, to Permissioned Blockchains.
Continue reading… “The next FinTech: Global “Open Finance” Infrastructure”
Blockchain is not a single technology. After having been conceived by Bitcoin creator — Satoshi Nakamoto, the world discovered the first known representation of this abstract concept through Bitcoin. Since then, hundreds of implementations have been explored. These are also called Distributed Ledger Technologies.
With hindsight, the blockchain concept is quite simple: it proposes an innovative information system architecture to process value exchange within open ecosystems. On the traditional web, information can be corrupted. Blockchain aims at securing high-sensitive data exchanges to preserve them from wrongdoing.
Continue reading… “Blockchain: Separating fact from fiction”
Genesis Capital, one of the largest providers of crypto loans, cracked $1 billion in crypto loans in 2018. Despite falling bitcoin prices, the demand for credit in the crypto money market seems higher than ever.
In the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, Genesis, a type of crypto bank, will provide $500 million in loans. As a result, the US company accounts for almost half of its total lending volume in the fourth quarter of 2018; In total $1.1 billion in loans. The market is booming — and after the already south-facing market lost further value in November and December. This emerges from the quarterly report of the company.
Continue reading… “Crypto lending on the rise: Credit volume of Genesis Capitol at over $1 Billion”
Cryptocurrency received an endorsement from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel when he stated that wide-scale crypto adoption is “inevitable” at a FinTech meeting in his city earlier this week.
The chief of staff for former US President Barack Obama said that while he is no expert in crypto technology, he believes digital assets could help financially unstable countries with their economic recovery.
The politician thinks that “an alternative way of currency dealing with the debt markets is going to happen” at some point in the future.
Continue reading… “Chicago Mayor believes Crypto adoption is “inevitable””
In October 2017, a SWAT team descended on Jameson Lopp’s house in North Carolina. Someone — it still isn’t clear who — had called the police and falsely claimed that a shooter at the home had killed someone and taken a hostage. After the police left, Mr. Lopp received a call threatening more mayhem if he did not make a large ransom payment in Bitcoin.
To scare off future attackers, Mr. Lopp quickly posted a video on Twitter of himself firing off his AR-15 rifle. He also decided he was going to make it much harder for his enemies — and anyone else — to find him ever again.
Mr. Lopp, a self-described libertarian who works for a Bitcoin security company, had long been obsessed with the value of privacy, and he set out to learn how thoroughly a person can escape the all-seeing eyes of corporate America and the government. But he wanted to do it without giving up internet access and moving to a shack in the woods.
Many celebrities and wealthy people, wary of thieves, paparazzi and other predators, have tried to achieve Mr. Lopp’s vision of complete privacy. Few have succeeded.
Continue reading… “How a Bitcoin evangelist made himself vanish, in 15 (not so easy) steps”
The first wave of crypto-focused smartphones from big players like Samsung is a small step toward a decentralized web.
The crypto world is full of buzzwords, but if you can peel away the marketing fluff, you sometimes find innovation beneath the surface. You are often also reminded just how early it is in the history of this technology. Case in point: the blockchain phone.
All of a sudden, several crypto-focused handsets are hitting the market, or will soon. The biggest player in the new game is Samsung, which confirmed this month that the Galaxy S10 will include a secure storage system for cryptocurrency private keys. It joins HTC, which for months has been touting the Exodus 1; Sirin Labs, which used proceeds from a huge ICO to build the Finney; and Electroneum, which this week began selling an $80 Android phone that can mine cryptocurrency.
Continue reading… “What the hell is a blockchain phone—and do I need one?”
Sweden goes from being the first in adopting banknotes in Europe in 1661 to introducing its own digital currency in 2021, and becoming the first world’s cashless society in 2023.
How is a country becoming the world’s first cashless society? Sweden, one of the most technologically advanced nations on the planet, is leading the way.
Sweden is expected to become the world’s first cashless society by March 2023. By then, cash will not be accepted any longer as a means of payment in Sweden.
Sweden has always been one of the first countries in embracing new technologies. There is a tradition in Sweden about being the first. This is noticeable throughout the Scandinavian country’s history. And its financial system is not the exception.
Continue reading… “Sweden: How to live in the world’s first cashless society”
Bitcoin has had a troubled start to 2019 with many predicting the long-running bitcoin bear market, which has seen the bitcoin price fall by some 80% over the last 12 months, could run on well into this year.
Not all are predicting doom and gloom for bitcoin, however. And now the chief executive of microblogging site Twitter and payments processor Square, Jack Dorsey, has repeated his prediction that bitcoin will “probably” become the internet’s “native currency.”
This isn’t the first time the often controversial Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey has said he expects bitcoin to continue growing.
Dorsey, who has previously talked up the potential of bitcoin and decentralized cryptocurrencies, was speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan in a wide-ranging interview that covered bitcoin, blockchain, free speech, and the formation of Twitter and Square.
Continue reading… “Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has made a bold prediction about Bitcoin”
The Consumer Electronics Show is one of the biggest technology events of the year where brand new devices and products are shown off to the world, sometimes for the very first time. As such, you’ll see some of the coolest and most exciting things at CES.
However, at CES 2019 we saw some things that were a little…strange. Some of them were cool, some of them were useful, and some of them could even make the world a better, safer place. But they were all a little weird and inevitably caused many CES 2019 attendees pause and scratch their heads.
We know not everyone can attend CES, so we’ve rounded up some of the weirdest things we saw as we wandered the show floor. Check out our strange CES 2019 roundup below.
Continue reading… “Weird CES: The bizarre things we didn’t expect to see”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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